1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to voting systems, and, more particularly, to a system and method for maintaining control over actions taken on voting devices located at various polling locations.
2. Description of Related Art
A variety of different types of voting devices are used in the United States and throughout the world. For example, many jurisdictions use electronic poll books that allow a poll worker to access a database of all the voters registered to vote in a particular election. When a voter enters a polling location, the poll worker uses the electronic poll book to search for the voter's record in the database, confirm that the voter has not yet voted in the election, and issue a voting credit to the voter. In many jurisdictions, the database resides locally on the electronic poll book, which may be periodically synchronized with a central voter database. Alternatively, the electronic poll book may communicate with the central voter database in real-time, in which case the validation of a voter's eligibility to vote and issuance of a voting credit is made directly against the central voter database.
Upon validation of a voter's eligibility to vote, several different types of voting devices are available for use by voters to cast their votes in a particular election. For example, in many jurisdictions, a voter receives a traditional paper ballot on which is printed the various races to be voted on. The voter votes by darkening or otherwise marking the appropriate mark spaces on the paper ballot. The marked paper ballot is then inserted into a ballot tabulation device for tabulation of the votes marked on the paper ballot.
In jurisdictions that use traditional paper ballots, an electronic ballot marking device may also be provided for use by voters who are blind, vision-impaired, or have a disability or condition that would make it difficult or impossible to manually mark a paper ballot in the usual way. In operation, a voter receives a paper ballot from a poll worker and takes the paper ballot to the ballot marking device. The voter inserts the paper ballot into the device, whereby the paper ballot is scanned and the various races to be voted on are presented to the voter either visually on a touch screen display or audibly via headphones. The voter then selects his/her votes using one of several different types of input devices (e.g., a touch screen display, Braille-embossed keys, etc.). Once the voter confirms that the selected votes are correct, a printer marks the paper ballot by printing marks in the appropriate mark spaces on the paper ballot. The voter or a poll worker then inserts the marked paper ballot into a ballot tabulation device for tabulation of the votes marked on the paper ballot.
In recent years, many jurisdictions have turned to electronic voting machines (such as direct recording electronic (DRE) voting machines) in lieu of traditional paper ballots. Typically, an electronic voting machine includes a touch screen display for displaying the various races to be voted on and allowing the “touch” selection of votes. Once the voter confirms that the selected votes are correct, the voting selections are recorded in the memory of the voting machine and electronically tabulated with the voting selections of other voters. The electronic voting machine may also include an audio ballot function for use by voters with disabilities.
In view of the different types of voting devices that are used at various polling locations, poll workers are trained to perform routine actions on the voting devices so as to enable the voting process to run smoothly on election day or during an early voting period. However, it is difficult to train poll workers to perform every action that may be required to be performed on the voting devices. In addition, many election adminstrators are cautious about allowing poll workers to perform certain actions that are out of the ordinary routine. In some cases, an election administrator may not allow a poll worker to perform a particular action and will send in a qualified county employee to perform the action. In this case, it takes time for the county employee to arrive at the polling location, which causes delay for the voters waiting to cast their ballots.